Line6 Spider IV?

**Vai**

Have had a Spider II for years now but its finally given up the ghost, speaker problem from what I can tell (but Im no expert). Anyway I wanted to get a Spider IV 212 (150 watt) but Im not sure. Had some issues with distortion and feedback when the Spider II was turned up over halfway and I want to know that wont happen again with the new version. Also, it was never awfully loud even tho its the 150 watt version. I would like to be assured that the new Spider is louder and clearer essentially.

Zombienosh

Ive tested one out and it sounded amazing, I'd always make sure to use a noise supressor when playing though cos it can be quite feedback-y when you turn up the gain.

Sandvich

I heard the IVs were much better than their predecessors but they have no effects loop which pisses me off. With the M9 out they should have added one.

BSOM

The new Line 6 IV has a new chipset over the III.

If your going to get one make sure you get the Line 6 FBV Mark 2. Once you buy it, you get an additonal 28 effects that will upload from the net once youve connected if via usb.

punchdrunk

sorry lads but these are awful,awful truly deplorable amps
i've left many a rehearsal room because they used these

ride-the-spiral

I'm not gonna say that they're absolutely terrible, but I don't like them at all. You can definitely get something better for the price, also stay away from the Marshall MG.

If you're looking for a modelling amp along the lines of a Spider, try the Peavey Vypyr, Vox Valvetronix or Line 6 Flextone, but I'd recommend getting an amp that does better tones than worrying that much about effects.

BSOM

What don't you like about them ?

Granted, when mic'd up they can be a little bit Glassy. The older ones, did have a less real sound but I saw once demoed by Line 6 a couple of weeks ago and i was blown away by the quality of the new chip.

rgjmce

ride-the-spiral wrote: »

I'm not gonna say that they're absolutely terrible, but I don't like them at all. You can definitely get something better for the price, also stay away from the Marshall MG.

still don't get people's hatred for them amps, yes they aren't very clear but are verstile and also something this isn't pointed out often, it's actually valvestate with FDD just like a vox 30 (forget the name of it). He did say he likes line 6 though, maybe try out a JDM marshall? i'm not brand loyal at all :rolleyes:. They seem to be getting good reviews etc.

Sandvich

punchdrunk wrote: »

sorry lads but these are awful,awful truly deplorable amps
i've left many a rehearsal room because they used these

The IV isn't out long, so I imagine that was the III and you're being silly.

BSOM

punchdrunk wrote: »

sorry lads but these are awful,awful truly deplorable amps
i've left many a rehearsal room because they used these

Also, Line 6 Spider IV 15 and 30 Watts.... biggest selling Amplifier in the USA and Europe....

ride-the-spiral

BSOM wrote: »

Also, Line 6 Spider IV 15 and 30 Watts.... biggest selling Amplifier in the USA and Europe....

Not a good indication at all, the MG's sell quite well, I own one but they're still not good amps for the price.

BSOM

ride-the-spiral wrote: »

Not a good indication at all, the MG's sell quite well, I own one but they're still not good amps for the price.

I honestly think for something for at home practise or small gigs for the price you cant go wrong. The guys who do Line 6 used to work for Korg etc.

Patricide

What has the instruments forum turned into......people actually recommending a line 6 spider 4...have you no ears? Im sorry if iv offended ye guys, and i know that people of course have different tastes but these amps are(in my opinion) terrible, fake and glassy sounding. Id take a marshall mg over them and thats saying something.

If i were you id get a bugera, its real amp without breaking the budget. Sure it may not be as flexible as the line 6(and it may also not be the best amp) but the tone will be a million times better. If you want the line 6 flexibility at least get a spider valve.. or better yet hold off buying an amp untill you have enough money to get something decent.

In a perfect world people should get a microcube to begin with, practice and save untill they can afford a tube amp(combo or half stack) and then they can rock out with there cocks out full steam ahead .

landsleaving

I picked up a fender superchamp xd about a week or two ago, and so far i'm very impressed. Sounds like a proper tube amp, but has some really versatile options in terms of tone. Really loud too. Unless you plan to play really high gain metal I'd recommend that over a spider.

darrenw5094

Patricide wrote: »

What has the instruments forum turned into......people actually recommending a line 6 spider 4...have you no ears? Im sorry if iv offended ye guys, and i know that people of course have different tastes but these amps are(in my opinion) terrible, fake and glassy sounding. Id take a marshall mg over them and thats saying something.

If i were you id get a bugera, its real amp without breaking the budget. Sure it may not be as flexible as the line 6(and it may also not be the best amp) but the tone will be a million times better. If you want the line 6 flexibility at least get a spider valve.. or better yet hold off buying an amp untill you have enough money to get something decent.

In a perfect world people should get a microcube to begin with, practice and save untill they can afford a tube amp(combo or half stack) and then they can rock out with there cocks out full steam ahead .

Someone posted something similar on here last month and ended up in a row.:)
Real guitar amps have preamp valves AND power valves. Other wise they sound sh1te.

WASP IN A JAR :pac:

Sandvich

Real guitar amps have preamp valves AND power valves. Other wise they sound sh1te.

Sorry, but that's incorrect.

All-tube amps tend to sound better but there are still plenty of SS/Hybrids that sound just as good, if not better for certain applications(such as the Jazz Chorus).

Pritchard amps are a good example, though they're kind of like the Dumbles of the SS world so they're quite pricey. Polytones are similar but a lot more affordable.

Even Peavey's transtube stuff is pretty fantastic and in some ways beats out all tube amps twice their price.

The Sunn Beta Lead and similar are often used by Stoner/Doom bands, Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead uses a solid State Fender for his overdriven tones(and weirdly an AC30 for this cleans). The Beatles used to gig with Vox Super Beatles.

Billy Gibbons of all people, who we argued about before, is using a tiny solid state amp here - http://www.woodytone.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/gibbons_billy_vh1storytellers_09_ztamps.jpg

There are far more good tube amps than good SS amps, but it doesn't mean that there aren't a sizable amount of good and great SS amps.

SS amps have a bad reputation mostly because they're cheap, so it's easy to make really cheap ass practice amps, and also back in the 60s they were very unreliable. Now the opposite is the case. If guitarists as a whole took SS more seriously you would eventually see a serious leap in the quality of SS amps.

Also, modelers like the Axe FX WILL fool you in a blind test. You can claim that all the "Feel" isn't there, but that doesn't mean it sounds "****e". Some guys actually prefer the more up front, less compressed feel of an SS anyway(such as shredders).

darrenw5094

Line6 amps suck balls, people. In a live mix they are horrid.

Sandvich

Really? Even the Spider Valve, Flextone and Vetta? I doubt it.

Spiders are low end practice amps. Of course they're not going to sound great.

goblin59

i havnt had much experiance with them, but i know i'd rather buy a spider amp than a marshall mg again, i own a marshall solid state amp and its possibly the worse amp ever to play, i used a line6 uber metal pedal with it to make it sound decent. im now however on a dsl100 which saved my opinion on marshall.

If your going for metal, i'd recommend trying a line 6 out before you diss it but probally not for many other styles of music.

darrenw5094

goblin59 wrote: »

i havnt had much experiance with them, but i know i'd rather buy a spider amp than a marshall mg again, i own a marshall solid state amp and its possibly the worse amp ever to play, i used a line6 uber metal pedal with it to make it sound decent. im now however on a dsl100 which saved my opinion on marshall.

Please don't judge Marshall from their SS or MG amps. Some Marshall valve amps are quite good.

goblin59

darrenw5094 wrote: »

Please don't judge Marshall from their SS or MG amps. Some Marshall valve amps are quite good.

lol, last line of my sentance, "im now however on a dsl100" don't worry i know the valve stuff they do is amazing, but **** do they need to stay away from making cheap crap.

darrenw5094

goblin59 wrote: »

lol, last line of my sentance, "im now however on a dsl100" don't worry i know the valve stuff they do is amazing, but **** do they need to stay away from making cheap crap.

I just edited out the last line of yours for effetc. Lol.

There is money in the entry level gear. Marshall went down that road. Not Mesa though.........:cool:

goblin59

im looking at getting a mesa next to be honest, and then a A/B pedal, i prefer the clean form the marshall to the mesa's clean but the drive is much nicer from what iv heard. I'd need to plug my guitar into one and have a go though to be honest, but i dont like using amps in shops unless im actually looking to buy one, or at least buying something that requires sound to be present.

**Vai**

Plenty of Line6 hatred round these parts I see. Ah well. So whats the recommendations for someone who, in these recessionary times only has a mere 500-600 to spend on an amp. Take into account I need an amp to gig with as well as record with. Most gigs are in small pubs without a PA being hooked into my amp.
Ive heard Flextone are very good but fairly expensive from what I remember.

As for the FBV MkII, thats an extra 180 quid. Considering I have the MkI, I can do without it for the time being.

Patricide

**Vai** wrote: »

Plenty of Line6 hatred round these parts I see. Ah well. So whats the recommendations for someone who, in these recessionary times only has a mere 500-600 to spend on an amp. Take into account I need an amp to gig with as well as record with. Most gigs are in small pubs without a PA being hooked into my amp.
Ive heard Flextone are very good but fairly expensive from what I remember.

As for the FBV MkII, thats an extra 180 quid. Considering I have the MkI, I can do without it for the time being.

500 - 600? Depends on what kinda music you play?

BSOM

**Vai** wrote: »

Plenty of Line6 hatred round these parts I see. Ah well. So whats the recommendations for someone who, in these recessionary times only has a mere 500-600 to spend on an amp. Take into account I need an amp to gig with as well as record with. Most gigs are in small pubs without a PA being hooked into my amp.
Ive heard Flextone are very good but fairly expensive from what I remember.

As for the FBV MkII, thats an extra 180 quid. Considering I have the MkI, I can do without it for the time being.

Mark2 is only €99, where did you see it for 180 ?!

**Vai**

Patricide wrote: »

500 - 600? Depends on what kinda music you play?

Mainly rock, metal, some prog stuff.

**Vai**

BSOM wrote: »

Mark2 is only €99, where did you see it for 180 ?!

On Thomann
http://www.thomann.de/ie/line6_fbv_shortboard_usb.htm

More importantly, where did u see it for 99??

Sandvich

Those shortboards are ridiculously expensive. I think the Peavey ones were pricey too.

I think they look at more professional level MIDI controller stuff and think "Yes; we can charge something like that too."

I'm lucky I got the Line 6 expression pedal on the cheap, I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. It costs more than twice as much as the Bespeco pedals which are essentially the same thing.

Patricide

Bugera 333xl. All tube, has good cleans, can get get heavy. Perfect for metal/prog/rock.

http://www.musicstore.de:80/de_DE/EUR/Bugera-333XL-212-120-Watt-Roehren-Combo/art-GIT0010985-000

just under 600 bucks for the combo, but if i were you id get the head and a fame cab with v30ies or somthing. The bugera cabs aint the best which would lead me to believe its the same with the combo's speaker..

BSOM

**Vai** wrote: »

On Thomann
http://www.thomann.de/ie/line6_fbv_shortboard_usb.htm

More importantly, where did u see it for 99??

Ah dont get the short board, get the Express Mark 2

**Vai**

Ah I wouldnt bother with that, might as well go the whole hog if your buying a board for it. The shortboard is your only man.

**Vai**

Patricide wrote: »

Bugera 333xl. All tube, has good cleans, can get get heavy. Perfect for metal/prog/rock.

http://www.musicstore.de:80/de_DE/EUR/Bugera-333XL-212-120-Watt-Roehren-Combo/art-GIT0010985-000

just under 600 bucks for the combo, but if i were you id get the head and a fame cab with v30ies or somthing. The bugera cabs aint the best which would lead me to believe its the same with the combo's speaker..

Have heard of Bugera amps alright. What about Randall? Anyone own a Randall? Was thinking a few months back about getting one.

Patricide

Had a randall combo(rg75) that served me well over the years until it died. I cant think of any randall in your price range that would be a better amp than the bugera though...

The only "proper" randall I played was the V2 and i really must say I was not a fan.

Demeyes

**Vai** wrote: »

Have heard of Bugera amps alright. What about Randall? Anyone own a Randall? Was thinking a few months back about getting one.

Their cheaper stuff isn't supposed to be much good, I have some experience with one of the more expensive models with the changeable modules and it seems pretty decent.
In your price range I'd be looking at used, you'll end up getting a better amp. I prefer head/cab to combo but that will probably set you back more money. Keep an eye on eBay and adverts as there is loads of good deals going lately. Bugera are an option, but you could also pick up a Laney GH series head. I have one that I gigged hard rock/metal for a few years and it did the job well.
While it may not be the most obvious choice, you could go for a small rack setup. You can get some SS poweramps pretty cheap and pair that up with a preamp like an Engl e530, Rocktron or a Peavey pre or you could get a modeller like a POD Pro or Digitech GSP1101. You'd have to do some searching around to get that used but in the end you'd have a very versatile and easily upgradeable rig.

Patricide

Demeyes wrote: »

Their cheaper stuff isn't supposed to be much good, I have some experience with one of the more expensive models with the changeable modules and it seems pretty decent.
In your price range I'd be looking at used, you'll end up getting a better amp. I prefer head/cab to combo but that will probably set you back more money. Keep an eye on eBay and adverts as there is loads of good deals going lately. Bugera are an option, but you could also pick up a Laney GH series head. I have one that I gigged hard rock/metal for a few years and it did the job well.
While it may not be the most obvious choice, you could go for a small rack setup. You can get some SS poweramps pretty cheap and pair that up with a preamp like an Engl e530, Rocktron or a Peavey pre or you could get a modeller like a POD Pro or Digitech GSP1101. You'd have to do some searching around to get that used but in the end you'd have a very versatile and easily upgradeable rig.

I second this post. I think it really depends when you want it, how much searching you want to do, and your knowledge of rack set ups.

**Vai**

Zero knowledge of rack set ups to be honest. I'd prefer a nice simple combo thats gonna last and sound good of course.
Gonna need a new bloody pickup now too. Feckin machines!